Sanjay Majhu, UK's New 'Curry King'

 

In the back streets of Glasgow, Scotland, lie the offices of one of the youngest millionaires in the business of feeding Indian food to the curry-mad Brits.

Sanjay Majhu did not get rich in the same way as did some other Indian entrepreneurs, who made their fortunes by creating ready-meals for UK supermarkets and by packaging food products such as chutneys. Instead, Majhu made his millions by putting food on the table in restaurants.

He has now built a business empire that turns over some 20-million pounds a year and has taken the title of Scotland's Curry King from his long-time friend Charan Gill MBE. He did this by acquiring Europe's largest chain of Indian restaurants from Gill himself - the Harlequin chain - and it cost him a cool £8million to do so.

As Sanjay Majhu explained to Britain's Success Magazine: "When Charan called me and asked me if I wanted to buy the restaurants, I knew it was a big deal. He is an icon and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When I first met Charan, I was about thirteen years old. I have grown up with him and he has taught me everything I know about business".

But Majhu did not start off aiming to be a Curry King - he already was a successful businessman in entirely unrelated fields, owning the Apple Pharmacy Group and Starlighting, an electrical wholesale company. So, how did the curry connection come about for the Kenyan-born Sikh? Majhu explained to Success Magazine: "In 1990, I bought my first restaurant but I was too embarrassed to ask for advice and it closed after three months. Then I found another place and had to borrow money to fund it. That closed as well. It was the worst time of my life."

Majhu decided to change horses in midstream and studied for a degree in pharmacy. The rest, as they say, is history. Now, the kilt-wearing Sikh is helped in his multi-stranded business life by his family.

"We are very much a family business . My wife and sister-in-law both help out. My mum threatened to make chapattis in the restaurant, but I had to put a stop to that one. She makes me go to the gurdwara and do things for the community. I never say no to my mum."